Thunderbirds
From Conservapedia
Thunderbirds is a highly-successful Supermarionation series created by Gerry Anderson and made at his studio in the United Kingdom. The series was the fourth Supermarionation series to be made (fifth if including Four Feather Falls) and the second Supermarionation series to be filmed in colour. Production began in 1964 and the series premiered in 1965, running for a total of 32 episodes until December 1966.
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Premise
The series took place over the course of the 2060's AD, following the adventures of International Rescue, an organisation established to help those in distress using an array of advanced machines and devices equipped for specialist tasks. Distress calls could be received on any wavelength by the geostationary space-station Thunderbird 5, and relayed to International Rescue HQ on Tracy Island.
The organisation was headed by its founder, multi-millionaire and ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, and used camera detectors and radar-devices to protect themselves against espionage or excessive media coverage.
Characters
- Jeff Tracy - The founder of International Rescue. Jeff was a former astronaut and among the first men to colonise the Moon. Now retired on his home on Tracy Island, Jeff co-ordinates International Rescue operations (all funded by his vast wealth) and on occassion will help out himself.
- Scott Tracy - Scott is the eldest of Jeff's sons, and as such acts as second-in-command of International Rescue. Scott is the pilot of Thunderbird 1, a reconnaisance craft often sent to distress calls to set up operations.
- Virgil Tracy - Virgil is the handsome pilot of Thunderbird 2, a large freighter designed to carry rescue equipment. In his free time, Virgil is shown to be an accomplished pianist and a postmodern artist.
- Alan Tracy - Alan is the youngest of Jeff's sons, and as such is treated as the runt of the litter. Alan was once an experienced racedriver, but left racing in favour of becoming an astronaut. This move later made him pilot of the spacefaring craft Thunderbird 3, and occasional occupant of Thunderbird 5.
- Gordon Tracy - Gordon is the pilot of the submarine Thunderbird 4, which is either launched direct from Tracy Island or carried to a particular area by Thunderbird 2. Gordon is rarely seen in the series, although merchandise to the series reveals that Gordon was once a swimmer for the United States of America in the Olympic Games, and had once served with the World Aquanaut Security Patrol (the organisation featured in Stingray).
- John Tracy - John is the "space monitor" aboard Thunderbird 5 who monitors radio messages sent out on all wavelengths for any distress calls sent to International Rescue. According to Gerry Anderson, John was placed aboard Thunderbird 5 because Anderson disliked John as a character, and thus was unable to feature prominently in any episode of the series as a result of his confinement to the space station.
- Brains - Brains, whose real name is Hiram J. Hackenbacker, is the chief scientific advisor for International Rescue, having designed all of the Thunderbirds craft and devices for use on rescue missions. Brains is easily recognised for his light-blue spectacles and his stutter
- Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward - Lady Penelope was one of several agents of International Rescue, but was the most frequently visited. Lady Penelope resided at Creighton-Ward Manor in England, along with her butler and chauffeur, Aloysius Parker, who spoke with a speech impediment and a faint Cockney accent. When dispatched by Jeff, Lady Penelope and Parker would travel in FAB 1, a futuristic Rolls Royce that could also double as a Hydrofoil when on water. In one episode, a yacht named FAB 2 was briefly seen, but was consequently lost in a gambling bet made by Parker.
- The Hood - The main recurring villain of the series, whose true identiy was never revealed (although it was known that Jeff's assistant, Kyrano, was his brother). The Hood was an opportunist who resided in a temple in Malaysia, where he attempted to profit from exposing International Rescue's technology to the highest bidders, only to be outwitted by International Rescue.
Movies
Three films of the series have been made to date, which have been separated thus:
Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 feature film based on the television series Thunderbirds. Like the original series, the film used Supermarionation for its film, and was made in Technicolor (the original series having been made in Videcolor).[1]
The film took place in the year 2068, when the Zero X spacecraft is underway to become the first manned mission to Mars. International Rescue are called on to prevent any sabotage attempts made on the launch of the spacecraft, and again when its landing procedure is disrupted.
The Zero X spacecraft would later appear in the pilot episode for the next Supermarionation series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and would eventually acquire its own comic-book series.[2]
Thunderbird 6
'Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 Supermarionation film and a sequel to both the original Thunderbirds series and the 1966 feature film Thunderbirds Are Go.[3]
The film follows the maiden voyage of Skyship One, a revolutionary airship made by an aviation company at the suggestion of Brains, despite an incredulous response at the initial conference. Over the course of the film, an espionage plot is discovered among the crew of the airship, who wish to take control of the Thunderbirds and use them to fuel their own terrorist activities.
Thunderbirds
For a more detailed treatment, see Thunderbirds (2004 film).
Thunderbirds 2086
Thunderbirds 2086 (originally titled Scientific Rescue Team TechnoVoyager) is a Japanese anime series created in 1982 as an attempt to modernise the original Supermarionation series. The series is usually considered non-canon due to the lack of involvement by Gerry Anderson. A total of 24 episodes were made, but only 18 were ever aired.[4]
